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Feedback 1) Contribution of Robert Owen :

Though Owen is considered to be paternalistic in his view, his c ontribution is of a c onsiderable significanc e in the theories of
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M otivation. During the early years of the nineteenth c entury, Owen’s textile mill at New Lanark in Sc otland was the scene of
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some novel ways of treating people. His view was that people were similar to machines. A machine that is looked after properly,
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c ared for and maintained well, performs effic iently, reliably and lastingly, similarly people are likely to be more effic ient if they
are taken c are of. Robert Owen practic ed what he preac hed and introduc ed such things as employee housing and c ompany
Get Paid for Your Tech shop. His ideas on this and other matters were c onsidered to be too revolutionary for that time.
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2) Jeremy Bentham’s “The Carrot and the Stick Approach” :
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Possibly the essence of the traditional view of people at work can be best appreciated by a brief look at the work of this English
philosopher, whose ideas were also developed in the early years of the Industrial Revolution, around 1800. Bentham’s view was
that all people are self-interested and are motivated by the desire to avoid pain and find pleasure. Any worker will work only if
the reward is big enough, or the punishment suffic iently unpleasant. This view - the ‘c arrot and stic k’ approac h - was built into
the philosophies of the age and is still to be found, espec ially in the older, more traditional sectors of industry.

The various leading theories of motivation and motivators seldom make referenc e to the carrot and the stic k. This metaphor
relates, of course, to the use of rewards and penalties in order to induc e desired behavior. It comes from the old story that to
make a donkey move, one must put a c arrot in front of him or dab him with a stic k from behind. Despite all the research on the
theories of motivation, reward and punishment are still c onsidered strong motivators. For centuries, however, they were too
often thought of as the only forc es that could motivate people.

At the same time, in all theories of motivation, the inducements of some kind of ‘c arrot’ are rec ognized. Often this is money in
the form of pay or bonuses. Even though money is not the only motivating force, it has been and will c ontinue to be an important
one. The trouble with the money ‘c arrot’ approac h is that too often everyone gets a carrot, regardless of performance through
suc h practic es as salary inc rease and promotion by seniority, automatic ‘merit’ inc reases, and exec utive bonuses not based on
individual manager performanc e. It is as simple as this : If a person put a donkey in a pen full of c arrots and then stood outside
with a c arrot, would the donkey be encouraged to c ome out of the pen ?

The ‘stick’, in the form of fear–fear of loss of job, loss of inc ome, reduc tion of bonus, demotion, or some other penalty–has been
and continues to be a strong motivator. Yet it is admittedly not the best kind. It often gives rise to defensive or retaliatory
behavior, such as union organization, poor-quality work, executive indifferenc e, failure of a manager to take any risks in dec ision
making or even dishonesty. But fear of penalty cannot be overlooked. Whether managers are first-level supervisors or chief
exec utives, the power of their position to give or with hold rewards or impose penalties of various kinds gives them an ability to
c ontrol, to a very great extent, the ec onomic and soc ial well-being of their subordinates.

3) Abraham Maslow’s “Need Hierarchy Theory” :

One of the most widely mentioned theories of motivation is the hierarc hy of needs theory put forth by psyc hologist Abraham
M aslow. M aslow saw human needs in the form of a hierarchy, asc ending from the lowest to the highest, and he c onc luded that
when one set of needs is satisfied, this kind of need ceases to be a motivator.

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As per his theory this needs are :

(i) Physiological needs :

These are important needs for sustaining the human life. Food, water, warmth, shelter, sleep, medic ine and educ ation are the
basic physiologic al needs whic h fall in the primary list of need satisfac tion. M aslow was of an opinion that until these needs were
satisfied to a degree to maintain life, no other motivating fac tors can work.

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(ii) Security or Safety needs :

These are the needs to be free of physical danger and of the fear of losing a job, property, food or shelter. It also inc ludes
protec tion against any emotional harm.

(iii) Social needs :

Sinc e people are social beings, they need to belong and be ac cepted by others. People try to satisfy their need for affection,
ac ceptanc e and friendship.

(iv) Esteem needs :

Acc ording to M aslow, onc e people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend to want to be held in esteem both by
themselves and by others. This kind of need produces such satisfac tion as power, prestige status and self-c onfidence. It inc ludes
both internal esteem factors like self-respect, autonomy and achievements and external esteem fac tors suc h as states,
rec ognition and attention.

(v) Need for self-actualization :

M aslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the drive to bec ome what one is c apable of becoming, it inc ludes
growth, achieving one’s potential and self-fulfillment. It is to maximize one’s potential and to ac c omplish something.

As each of these needs are substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. From the standpoint of motivation, the
theory would say that although no need is ever fully gratified, a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates. So if you want to
motivate someone, you need to understand what level of the hierarc hy that person is on and foc us on satisfying those needs or
needs above that level.

M aslow’s need theory has rec eived wide rec ognition, particularly among prac ticing managers. This can be attributed to the
theory’s intuitive logic and ease of understanding. However, researc h does not validate these theory. Maslow provided no
empirical evidenc e and other several studies that sought to validate the theory found no support for it.

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4) “Theory X and Theory Y” of Douglas McGregor :

M cGregor, in his book “The Human side of Enterprise” states that people inside the organization can be managed in two ways.
The first is basic ally negative, whic h falls under the c ategory X and the other is basic ally positive, whic h falls under the category
Y. After viewing the way in whic h the manager dealt with employees, Mc Gregor conc luded that a manager’s view of the nature of
human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and that he or she tends to mold his or her behavior towards

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subordinates ac cording to these assumptions.

Under the assumptions of theory X :

Employees inherently do not like work and whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it.

Bec ause employees dislike work, they have to be forced, coerc ed or threatened with punishment to ac hieve goals.

Employees avoid responsibilities and do not work fill formal directions are issued.

M ost workers plac e a greater importance on sec urity over all other fac tors and display little ambition.

In c ontrast under the assumptions of theory Y :

Physic al and mental effort at work is as natural as rest or play.

People do exerc ise self-control and self-direc tion and if they are c ommitted to those goals.

Average human beings are willing to take responsibility and exerc ise imagination, ingenuity and c reativity in solving the
problems of the organization.

That the way the things are organized, the average human being’s brainpower is only partly used.

On analysis of the assumptions it can be detec ted that theory X assumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals and theory
Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. An organization that is run on Theory X lines tends to be authoritarian in
nature, the word “authoritarian” suggests suc h ideas as the “power to enforc e obedience” and the “right to command.” In
c ontrast Theory Y organizations c an be desc ribed as “partic ipative”, where the aims of the organization and of the individuals in it
are integrated; individuals c an ac hieve their own goals best by direc ting their efforts towards the succ ess of the organization.

However, this theory has been c riticized widely for generalization of work and human behavior.

5) Contribution of Rensis Likert :

Likert developed a refined c lassific ation, breaking down organizations into four management systems.

1st System – Primitive authoritarian

2nd System – Benevolent authoritarian
3rd System – Consultative
4th System – Partic ipative

As per the opinion of Likert, the 4th system is the best, not only for profit organizations, but also for non-profit firms.

6) Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory :

Frederick has tried to modify Maslow’s need Hierarchy theory. His theory is also known as two-fac tor theory or Hygiene theory.
He stated that there are certain satisfiers and dissatisfiers for employees at work. In- trinsic fac tors are related to job
satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are associated with dissatisfaction. He devised his theory on the question : “What do people
want from their jobs ?” He asked people to describe in detail, suc h situations when they felt exceptionally good or exc eptionally
bad. From the responses that he received, he conc luded that opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfac tion. Removing dissatisfying
c harac teristic s from a job does not nec essarily make the job satisfying. He states that presenc e of c ertain fac tors in the
organization is natural and the presenc e of the same does not lead to motivation. However, their nonpresence leads to
demotivation. In similar manner there are certain factors, the absence of whic h causes no dissatisfac tion, but their presenc e has
motivational impac t.

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Examples of Hygiene factors are :

Security, status, relationship with subordinates, personal life, salary, work c onditions, relationship with supervisor and company
polic y and administration.

Examples of M otivational fac tors are :

Growth prospectus job advanc ement, responsibility, challenges, recognition and achievements.

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7) Contributions of Elton Mayo :

The work of Elton M ayo is famously known as “Hawthorne Experiments.” He c onduc ted behavioral experiments at the Hawthorne
Works of the Americ an Western Electric Company in Chicago. He made some illumination experiments, introduced breaks in
between the work performanc e and also introduc ed refreshments during the pause’s. On the basis of this he drew the
c onclusions that motivation was a very c omplex subject. It was not only about pay, work c ondition and morale but also inc luded
psychological and soc ial factors. Although this researc h has been critic ized from many angles, the c entral conclusions drawn
were :

People are motivated by more than pay and conditions.

The need for rec ognition and a sense of belonging are very important.

Attitudes towards work are strongly influenced by the group.

8) Vroom’s Valence x Expectancy theory :

The most widely ac cepted explanations of motivation has been propounded by Vic tor Vroom. His theory is c ommonly known as
expec tanc y theory. The theory argues that the strength of a tendenc y to ac t in a spec ific way depends on the strength of an
expec tation that the ac t will be followed by a given outc ome and on the attractiveness of that outc ome to the individual to make
this simple, expectancy theory says that an employee can be motivated to perform better when their is a belief that the better
performanc e will lead to good performance appraisal and that this shall result into realization of personal goal in form of some
reward. Therefore an employee is :

M otivation = Valence x Expec tanc y.

The theory focuses on three things :

Efforts and performance relationship

Performanc e and reward relationship

Rewards and personal goal relationship

This leads us to a c onc lusion that :

9) The Porter and Lawler Model :

Lyman W. Porter and Edward E. Lawler developed a more c omplete version of motivation depending upon expec tancy theory.

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Actual performance in a job is primarily determined by the effort spent. But it is also affec ted by the person’s ability to do the
job and also by individual’s perception of what the required task is. So performanc e is the responsible fac tor that leads to
intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards. These rewards, along with the equity of individual leads to satisfac tion. Henc e, satisfaction
of the individual depends upon the fairness of the reward.

10) Clayton Alderfer’s ERG Theory :

Alderfer has tried to rebuild the hierarchy of needs of M aslow into another model named ERG i.e. Existenc e – Relatedness –
Growth. Acc ording to him there are 3 groups of core needs as mentioned above. The existence group is c onc erned mainly with
providing basic material existence. The second group is the individuals need to maintain interpersonal relationship with other
members in the group. The final group is the intrinsic desire to grow and develop personally. The major c onc lusions of this theory
are :

1. In an individual, more than one need may be operative at the same time.

2. If a higher need goes unsatisfied than the desire to satisfy a lower need intensifies.

3. It also contains the frustration-regression dimension.

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11) McClelland’s Theory of Needs :

David M cClelland has developed a theory on three types of motivating needs :

1. Need for Power

2. Need for Affiliation

3. Need for Ac hievement

Basically people for high need for power are inc lined towards influenc e and c ontrol. They like to be at the c enter and are good
orators. They are demanding in nature, forceful in manners and ambitious in life. They c an be motivated to perform if they are
given key positions or power positions.

In the sec ond c ategory are the people who are social in nature. They try to affiliate themselves with individuals and groups. They
are driven by love and faith. They like to build a friendly environment around themselves. Soc ial rec ognition and affiliation with
others provides them motivation.

People in the third area are driven by the c hallenge of succ ess and the fear of failure. Their need for ac hievement is moderate
and they set for themselves moderately diffic ult tasks. They are analytical in nature and take c alc ulated risks. Such people are
motivated to perform when they see atleast some c hanc es of suc cess.

M cClelland observed that with the advanc ement in hierarc hy the need for power and ac hievement inc reased rather than
Affiliation. He also observed that people who were at the top, later ceased to be motivated by this drives.

12 ) Equity Theory :

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As per the equity theory of J. Stacey Adams, people are motivated by their beliefs about the reward structure as being fair or
unfair, relative to the inputs. People have a tendency to use subjective judgment to balance the outc omes and inputs in the
relationship for c omparisons between different individuals. Acc ordingly :

If people feel that they are not equally rewarded they either reduc e the quantity or quality of work or migrate to some other
organization. However, if people perc eive that they are rewarded higher, they may be motivated to work harder.

13) Reinforcement Theory :

B.F. Skinner, who propounded the reinforc ement theory, holds that by designing the environment properly, individuals c an be
motivated. Instead of c onsidering internal fac tors like impressions, feelings, attitudes and other c ognitive behavior, individuals are
direc ted by what happens in the environment external to them. Skinner states that work environment should be made suitable to
the individuals and that punishments ac tually leads to frustration and de-motivation. Hence, the only way to motivate is to keep
on making positive c hanges in the external environment of the organization.

14) Goal Setting Theory of Edwin Locke :

Instead of giving vague tasks to people, spec ific and pronounc ed objectives, help in ac hieving them faster. As the clearity is high,
a goal orientation also avoids any misunderstandings in the work of the employees. The goal setting theory states that when the
goals to be ac hieved are set at a higher standard than in that c ase employees are motivated to perform better and put in
maximum effort. It revolves around the c onc ept of “Self-efficacy” i.e. individual’s belief that he or she is capable of performing a
hard task.

15) Cognitive Evaluation Theory :

As per these theory a shift from external rewards to internal rewards results into motivation. It believes that even after the
stoppage of external stimulus, internal stimulus survives. It relates to the pay structure in the organization. Instead of treating
external fac tors like pay, incentives, promotion etc and internal fac tors like interests, drives, responsibility etc , separately, they
should be treated as c ontemporary to eac h other. The c ognition is to be suc h that even when external motivators are not there
the internal motivation continues. However, practic ally extrinsic rewards are given muc h more weightage.

TASK TO BE PERFORMED :

DEBATE :

LIST 10 STRONG POINTS OF YOUR PERSONALITY

LIST 10 NEGATIVE POINTS OF YOUR PERSONALITY
ARE THIS 20 POINTS DEBATABLE ?
TRY CHANGE THE NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE

“Ask yourself :

1. What sort of manager would you like to be managed by ?

2. Are you that sort of person ?

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This are two basic questions c onduc ive to a healthy management style.”

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